Boys Volleyball: NorCal recap, Rankings, Standings

The Northern California championship games were run well, and provided some exciting volleyball on Saturday night. It was a good end to a very good season.
Just to recap the finals in both divisions, Deer Valley and Campolindo both played well. However, in Division I, the Wolverines ran into a buzzsaw. A very well balanced Mitty team was hard to deal with, and though DV hung with them for the most part, Mitty’s passing and blocking proved to be the difference.
Deer Valley had the two best hitters on the court, with Jordan Ewert and Marcus Lee, and the best setter with Derrico Kwa, but Mitty could come at you from many different places, and made perfect passes to their setter all night. They also served very tough and kept the DV serve/receive game on their toes.
In Division II, Campo did what it has done all year, which is fight for every single point. They never give up on a play, they force their opponents to make plays and they generally scrap from beginning to end. There is only one senior on this Campolindo team as they lose libero Bryan Lee. Everyone else returns, and most of them were only sophomore this year. Watch out for a few more years with this team. I think next year’s pre-season No. 1 team is pretty obvious.

So who are some teams to watch out for next year? I still have to imagine DV is the team to beat in Division I with Ewert and Jared Stark, among a few others, returning. Foothill, with Corey Fredricksen, will be a tough team, and De La Salle, with all its youth will be right back at the top next year.
Division II probably won’t be so lopsided next year as Washington, Northgate, and Kennedy, among others, return several key pieces.
Division III will likely see St. Pat’s drop just a bit, but more than likely they’ll be at the top. It’ll be interesting to see how Bentley, College Prep and Moreau Catholic all build on successful seasons.

Rankings

Despite Campolindo winning the Division II NorCal title, Deer Valley stays No. 1, ending the season as the East Bay’s top team. The Wolverines reached the Division I final, and the head-to-head win is still enough to keep them on top. Had DV not reached the title game, then maybe a switch. But let’s just say that DV and Campo are easily the two best teams in the area and it was a great season for both

Matt Smith

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Matt
Thanks for another great season. Yesterday was a great day for NorCal boys volleyball. I am ok with your final ranking. DV had a great season, it was the best in school history. Campo also had the best season in school history. If the two teams play today, which team you would put your life on?

Matt Smith

If they play 10 times, I think each wins five.
I probably wouldn’t put my life on a volleyball game, unless I was a serious degenerate gambler

Jeff

Crazy thing is Campo will be even better next year, and even better than that the next. They could very well be the first State champs in DII next year, although I think Esperanza has to be the favorites there.

True

Matt
Let me rephrase my question. If DV and Campo play for a Championship game against each other. Who would you place your bet on? Don’t give me 50/50. Again it is only your opinion. There has to be a winner. Just answer DV or Campo

Matt Smith

@True I’m not going for the bait. The two teams are incredibly even.

True

@Matt
Ok you just gave me your answer. Thanks

vbalum

Interesting as their schedules were almost polar opposites including the difficulty of tournament schedules and who they played against to get their 42-2 records.

True

DV and Campo Head to head was early in the season. You compare teams how their get better at the end. DV got better with lee in the line up. But I thought finished as a better team just because they continue to look better and better every week. I didn’t see that from DV

http://EastBayPrepCorner VB Freak

Congrats to all and especially to Bryan lLee for an awesome four years at Campo. Also, hats off to Will Yuen, Head Coach at Mitty. He’s the real deal and is one of best coaches around.

True

Dido regarding b lee. I thought this guy never graduate. Every year I came and watched campo matches, he was there in uniform. He had a great high school career. Is he playing in college?

ebvbfan

Only my opinion but as a vb fan I think Campo is the better team right now. There is no rotation they get stuck in. That says a lot about their team. They’re not big, they’re just all volleyball players, all have very high volleyball IQ, they are just a joy to watch. They remind me of the great SRV team a few years back that had Bauhs, Manguiat, Cole, Woodland, Washom and Bogart. If they stay healthy they will be dominant the next couple of years. It will be interesting to see which tournaments they play in. Hope they get a chance to test themselves against the top SoCal teams.

http://EastBayPrepCorner VB Freak

Not sure if “BLee” ( cool name…kinda like the Warriors’ DLee) will play in college. He has vb in his blood so I believe he’ll at least play club.